fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2967 ]

[ SECRET POST #2967 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2967 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 034 secrets from Secret Submission Post #424.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets (also too big anyway) ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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OP

Okay. In that case, what do you think of this?

have a roommate who had a similar problem, and I'm going to tell you what I would tell her if I wouldn't have had to put up with her reaction because she is a snotty five-year-old in an aging otaku's body:

You're not that good, you're not that talented, and the fact that you think you deserve to be more popular than lesser writers is going to reflect in what you write. People do not respond to that attitude, even if they can't put their finger on it.

It doesn't matter if all your grammar and spelling is perfect, it doesn't matter if you follow a three-act structure, it doesn't matter if you use gorgeous imagery and diction. All of that stuff is technical, functional, basic-foundation bullshit, it is scaffolding, not a story, and being more proficient with building a foundation does not make you better than your peers (and yes, other fanfic writers are your peers, even if you look down your nose at them.) If there's nothing for the reader to connect to, you might as well be writing a textbook. And if people aren't giving you feedback, they aren't connecting to your work. The problem is you, not everyone else.

My roommate's problem is that she writes elaborate, well-structured vignettes about characters that no one cares about in situations no one could relate to where nothing happens and there's no plot, unless it's a long-winded multi-chapter thing about characters no one even knows about except for smug hipsters who wouldn't read her bullshit anyway. All her stories boil down to "one character sits around by himself having an inner monologue". Pretty and competently written, but lacking substance, lacking real character. (My roommate also has no soul and understands human feelings the way a lesbian prostitute understands how to pleasure a man: sure, she knows how the parts are supposed to work, but she has no interest in pretending to be interested in them unless you pay her)

If you want attention from an audience, you have to write for that audience. If you really want to improve your writing and get attention from the masses, go looking for fic recs in your fandom and look up the ones that have HIGH numbers of comments and views. Or go to Archive Of Our Own and filter for the ones with the most reviews and kudos. I guarantee you, those ones are going to be better than yours. Learn from them.

Or go to Archive Of Our Own and filter for the ones with the most reviews and kudos.

Well, *you* have clearly never been on the Archive of Our Own I take it...

(My roommate also has no soul and understands human feelings the way a lesbian prostitute understands how to pleasure a man: sure, she knows how the parts are supposed to work, but she has no interest in pretending to be interested in them unless you pay her)

I have a pretty high tolerance for shittiness and un-PC behavior and even I think you sound like a shit human being with that tasteless and dehumanizing analogy. Frankly, if that was all I had seen of you, I wouldn't want to be around you, and I wouldn't be inclined to take advice on writing from you.

Basically you haven't given any advice, you've just tl;dr'd "Wah Wah look how clever I am and you're not as great as you think, you have no talent". You come across as someone just looking to jack off your own ego at someone else's expense. Which is probably what you ARE doing from the way you've described its impact on your emotions and life.

Good advice gives someone something to build on, it doesn't just tear them down. Congratulations: You're not that good and not that talented at giving writing advice. In fact, I haven't seen one redeeming quality or useful nugget of advice in that entire wall of text.

OP

I haven't been on AO3 recently since my fandom involvement has been limited, but when I spent time on there, I did notice common traits among pieces with a higher number of kudos/reviews for various pairings/themes. Since the author had been wondering why the pieces she wrote weren't getting more kudos (pieces that she felt were being overlooked in favor of pieces she described as mediocre), I encouraged her to study those more lauded fics. Given that she did not mention the fandom for which she wrote, I couldn't provide more specific advice. I was advising her to study the tropes of the more recognized fics in greater detail and to look past the mediocrity to push her own mental limits (triggered by possible snobbery and/or insecurity).

Bullshit. You said: I guarantee you, those ones [most popular AO3 fics] are going to be better than yours.

You're not talking about studying traits, you're outrightly conflating popularity with quality.

In all likelihood, you're trolling, at least I hope so. The only other possibility is that there really is someone out there with almost no understanding of what makes good writing, and who gets their kicks off of bullying better writers than themselves, while being stuck with a shitty therapist who encourages them in their bullying and harassment.

If by some miracle you're actually legit, I encourage you to get a better fukkin' therapist kid.

I did notice common traits among pieces with a higher number of kudos/reviews for various pairings/themes

POPULAR SHIPS GETTING MORE TRAFFIC/NOTICE IS NOT AN INDICATOR OF QUALITY.

Honey. Honey. You know what fics inn my fandom have the most kudos, hits, and comments? Smut featuring the most popular pairing. A lot of it isn't well-written. Some of it's anatomically impossible. It's still really popular, because it serves a need. Telling someone to "study" the highest rated fics won't help them write well, it will help them pander.

You don't shit, sweetheart. You're a bad person who rationalizes her behavior by saying, "oh, but I know better, and I'm helping." lol no

In other words, you hate the kind of stories she writes, so she should write the kinds of stories you like. Your justification is that she writes in an unpopular genre and you like popular genres, because obviously art is determined by popular vote. No attempt at all to advise how to write better in her genre, because apparently self-contemplation and internal monogue are boring bullshit. And you pull this crap for FIVE. DAYS.

(Seriously, I'm almost tempted to call troll for recommending that she look at stories with tons of kudos on AO3. Those tend to be the stories that are so bland and generic that lots of people enjoy them, but few people really care about them or remember them long.)

Has anyone told you that just because you review or give an opinion doesn't mean people have to take your advice or they're bad writers. Quit being so entitled.

In my experience every person who forces their opinion on a writer and insists that they need to listen to them has turned out to be a dumbass or full of shit.

You're no exception. Please, for the love of God, stop making excuses for yourself and grow up. The dedication you have to shoving your opinion on people is honestly quite creepy.

Oh god, you're that loser from LJ Secrets, aren't you?

I'm so glad for the writer you replied to that you are indeed a sad little troll with no life (oh, except for that totally not defensive at all list of creds you felt the need to reel out to make yourself look special). They weren't a ray of sunshine themselves, but they saw through your bullshit PDQ, and good on them for it.

You're a sad, small person. I can't imagine how hollow your life truly is if the only way you can endure it is to try and convince yourself that other people are as pathetic as you.

They're not, you know. But you do know, don't you, or else you wouldn't be behaving the way you are. Behavior like yours only comes from a place of true self-loathing.

"My roommate also has no soul and understands human feelings the way a lesbian prostitute understands how to pleasure a man: sure, she knows how the parts are supposed to work, but she has no interest in pretending to be interested in them unless you pay her"

This is what you pass off as advice?

*squints* I have an impressive amount of kudos, views and comments and I will probably be one of those fics your room mate would see. I promise you that what I wrote is not generally considered "good writing".

But it certainly appeals to many, many people.

Dude.

You're the problem here. You're gonna need to look into that if you want anyone to properly pay attention to you.

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[ SECRET POST #2967 ]

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